Review of My Favorite Wife (1940) by Devon B — 26 Jun 2011

My Favorite Wife is one of the lesser, lighter Cary Grant movies. In it, he plays a man whose wife is lost at sea. Seven years later, he goes to the judge to have her declared dead so that he may re-marry.

No sooner does he re-marry when his first wife comes wandering back home. She had been living on a tropical island for the last seven years and had only been rescued recently by a passing freighter. Naturally, from this all sorts of chaos arises.

Well, some minor chaos. This film is listed as a starring vehicle for Irene Dunne (the original wife), so it's little wonder the new wife (Gail Patrick) is barely in the picture at all. There's very little controversy or dilemma involved on the husband's part.

He never considers the new wife, even for a little bit. There's a couple of cute gags, mostly involving the guy Dunne was stuck on the island with (Randolph Scott), but this film is way too slight to make anyone go out of their way to see it.